Quid Pro Quo by Manna Francis – review

Rating:  

When he agrees to do a favor for his old friend Liz Carey in Corporate Fraud, Para-investigator Val Toreth is hoping for a simple case. After all, kidnapping and dismemberment are all in a day’s work for the Investigation and Interrogation Division. But in the European Administration, simplicity is often a dangerous illusion, and anyone who goes looking for trouble in the corporate world is certain to find more than they bargained for. Fraud, sabotage, espionage, blackmail, decades-long vendettas, and murder–the more powerful the corporations, the darker their secrets. Corporate insiders and innocent bystanders alike are all too easily caught up in the conflicts, but when suspects can hide behind money and power, what chance is there of any justice?

And on top of everything else, Toreth also has to deal with Keir Warrick. But that’s easy. That’s just sex.

The sequel to Mind Fuck, this second book in the Administration series contains the novella Quid Pro Quo, as well as five short stories set in the near future dystopia of New London and centered around professional investigator and interrogator Val Toreth, and technical genius turned corporate Keir Warrick.

My Review: I feel the need for a disclaimer here: Manna Francis’ Administration series was my first, best love when it comes to original slash. They’re some of the first slash stories I ever read, and oh, man, were they a revelation! Francis set the bar extremely high, and to this day I still think The Administration is absolutely the best m/m read a reader can find, on the internet or in print. Needless to say, when I heard that there was going to be a brand new story in the series, a print exclusive, no less, I jumped at the chance to review it.

So did it live up to my fannish expectations? Yes and no.

The writing in Quid Pro Quo is certainly up to par with Francis’ other work, and the opening scene is exquisite. (Fans of the Mannazone site will recognize it as a transplant of the short story Unlucky Break, a bit of a cheat in terms of ‘new material’, but it’s still a great way to get the new story rolling.) One of Francis’ fortes are her incredibly vivid, real characters, and the first few pages dump the reader straight into the wonderfully compelling Toreth/Warrick dynamic. In a scene that’s humorous, clever, sexy, and sardonic, we see how the pair copes with the first serious accident resulting from their D/S play, and the personalities practically jump off the page. Toreth’s practical detachment, casual cruelty, and competitive, confident nature, are all nicely on display, as is the obvious pleasure he derives from being with Warrick, whose intelligence, dry humor, and occasional iciness are also front-and-center. Both men are complex, three-dimensional, and flawed, but even with their unattractive qualities (or perhaps even because of them), they’re still intensely likeable. It’s such a pleasure to watch these characters interact, and Francis never forgets that the most powerful sex organ is the brain; the two capable, whip-smart men constantly challenge one another and the give-and-take of their mind games creates crackling anticipation that pays off in a big way.

And this brings me to the reason why I found Quid Pro Quo just a bit disappointing. Aside from the winning opening scene, we’re treated to only a couple of appearances from Warrick. And while these few scenes nicely fill in some blanks in the progression of the men’s relationship, as a fan of Francis’ work precisely because of her deft handling of The Administration’s central relationship, I was hoping for more time with both of the male leads. Warrick’s lack of presence in the story doesn’t make it bad, but the blink-and-you’ll-miss-them bits of slash probably won’t carry readers through the entire novella.

Fortunately, since Francis’ other fortes are her strong world-building and ability to spin rip-roaring good crime/mystery stories, there’s plenty to enjoy in Quid Pro Quo besides the slash. We follow Para-investigator Toreth (a state-sponsored torturer/detective in the future dystopia of New London) as he navigates his way through a tricky kidnapping case. Fans of the series will enjoy the closer look into the politics of big corporate interests that the story provides and the new glimpses into Toreth’s life at the Investigation and Interrogation division. Toreth’s progression through the case is tightly paced, peppered with appearances from a cast of rich and interesting supporting characters. Even when he’s at his most self-interestedly sociopathic, it’s very difficult not to root for Toreth, and I was engaged in his investigation from start to finish.

While Quid Pro Quo is a solid, well-written, cleanly edited, and enjoyable read, I have to say that it doesn’t add much to a series that’s already so very strong. However, nearly half the pages of the Casperian paperback release are devoted to five other short stories from the Mannazone website: Friday, Pancakes, Surprises, Family, and Mirror, Mirror. These shorts have everything that’s missing from Quid Pro Quo and it’s delightful to be able to watch Toreth and Warrick’s intellectual sparring, their increasingly elaborate games, and the development of their deepening relationship come alive on the page instead of scrolling through on a web browser. You won’t find any saccharine declarations of love here, but the sex scenes between Toreth and Warrick are smoking hot, and, between the lines, Francis has skillfully laid the foundations for a touching romance (all the more striking and powerful for what’s left unsaid). It’s a treat to have these stories in print.

I wouldn’t necessarily recommend Quid Pro Quo as an introduction to The Administration–the far superior Mind Fuck serves as a much better starting point and is a must-read for any slash fan weary of the syrupy sameness of most offerings in the genre–but it’s still a quality read. It’s perhaps a bit of an unnecessary addition, and I would have been happy buying a paperback of the other five stories without the new material, but if Francis ever releases another add-on to her series, I’ll be the first in line to read it. Highly recommended.